Creatures in the Dark
by idevourbooks
Summary: There's always been a problem between the Dragneels & the Heartfilias. Maybe it's because vampires and werewolves just don't mix, but who knows, maybe it's because they use different coffee brands. And when one of the Heartfilia's youngest goes hunting for the first time and accidentally drinks a Dragneel dry, they have their own thirst for blood - and it's the blood of their heir.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys! I decided to start another story! I know some of you are probably thinking I'm crazy and that I'm never going to be able to manage that, but I have two things for you: 1) I am in fact insane, so thank you for noticing, and 2) that's for the future to tell! Besides, I love my stories and I work hard on them so I'll do my best! Anyways...**

** I do NOT own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does and if I did, all of my ships would've sailed by now...**

**WARNING: This is rated T for a reason! Cussing, violence, and other things are involved in this so think before you read!**

**Last thing - this chapter is sort of like an introduction - a very long introduction.**

**Enjoy! **

**Chapter One**

**Natsu's POV**

You know what I love?

Sleeping.

Want to know what I hate?

Being woken up by a stripping pervert throwing a bucket of ice cold water on you.

"GRAY! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! GET THE FUCK BACK HERE YOU FROZEN POPSICLE DICK!"

So I guess you can say I was sort of pissed off.

"COME AND GET ME, FLAME BRAIN!"

Scratch that, make it_ very_ pissed off.

I throw my now, sopping wet red covers off of me and start chasing the little shit out of my room and down the hall, cussing him off every chance I got. He turns around and flips me off before throwing the tin bucket at my head that I take head on and keep running, ignoring my throbbing head. _That's going to leave a mark._

I continue to chase the naked boy through the intertwining, yellow halls and finally get him when my little sister, Wendy, steps out of her room and gets in his way by accident. Never have I ever loved my sister so much and never have I ever felt so bad for her in this moment as she got an eyeful of the part of Gray's body that should never see the sun, but of course did thanks to his stripping problem.

My sister screams, "MY EYES! THEY BURN!" causing Gray to start apologizing and giving me enough time to tackle him to the ground, reassuring Wendy that I'd 'avenge' us both.

I put the stripping pervert into a headlock and start muttering threats into his ear of how if he ever did that to my sister again, I'd cut off his balls and staple them to his face and how if he ever used cold water to wake me up again, I'd write 'DICKBUTT' across his forehead in permanent marker and burn off his eyebrows while I was at it.

Gray then elbows me in the stomach, hard enough for me to loosen my grasp on him, and flips us over so he's crouching over me. He pulls my nose back as far as it could go with his other hand landing a firm grip on my windpipe. I grab his arms and try to pry them off, but come out with no avail.

"YOU PERVERT! GET OFF OF ME!" I yell at him.

"I'M THE PERVERT? YOU'RE THE ONE RUNNING AROUND SHIRTLESS!" he retorts back.

"SO?!" I scream into his face, moving both of my hands onto his arm that currently had my throat in its grasp, and twist my hands in two different ways to give him 'Indian Rug Burn'. "AT LEAST I HAVE PANTS ON, YOU NAKED SNOW CONE!"

Gray seethes from the pain I was causing on his left arm and he eventually caves in on himself, allowing me to roll back on top of him and start kneeing him over and over again in the stomach.

Gray, who was in his full glory, and I, who had black sweatpants on, were what you call frenemies. Friends that were also enemies at the same time. We've been that way since we were children, and the one who would break us apart would be-

"YOU RETARDS! YOU JUST BLINDED WENDY!"

-that beast. Gray's older sister, Ultear.

Gray and I both freeze and slowly turn our heads to see the violet haired girl cracking her knuckles.

"Ultear?" We squeak out in unison.

"YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT NOW, FUCKERS." She answers and I swear I can see her eyes beginning to glow red.

_Oh shit._

Gray and I quickly sit up and begin clutching onto each other like babies as Ultear takes a step forward. We screech as she picks us up by the hair on our heads and throws us into the walls before taking Wendy's hand and smiling as she asks her how she slept.

"That woman," I start.

"Is the Devil," Gray finishes for me from inside the wall parallel to mine. We look at each other and shake our heads before Gray runs off to find his clothes and I make my way to the kitchen, where the smell of eggs and bacon was wafting up the stairs from. I hop down the marble steps and stride through the foyer into the beige based kitchen.

I spot my mom's stark white hair almost immediately in front of the stove and walk over to her, kissing the blue eyed woman on the cheek before stealing a piece of bacon off of her skillet.

My mom rolls her eyes and pats me on the cheek, "Natsu Dragneel, I swear one day you're going to eat so much that you finally gain the one hundred pounds of food you eat a day in your weight."

I stick my tongue out at her and she just slaps my cheek in response, "Nu-uh, you don't do that to me, young man. I am your mother. I spent twelve hours in painful labor for your sorry ass to come out so you show me some respect."

I hear someone laugh next to her and I turn to see Gray's mom, Ur, at the other side of the stove scrambling the eggs. "Good morning, Natsu - oh, why are you wet?" Ur asks as she pets my damp head of hair.

I growl, "Gray."

"Are you serious?" She fumes and I nod at the short haired version of Ultear. "Tsk, tsk, I think I need to make my son rub up on his manners now, don't I?"

Ur turns off her burner on the stove and turns on her heel out of the kitchen, probably on her way to terminate Gray. I get a tap on the shoulder and turn to see the mocking face of Bacchus.

"Does the baby need his baba and his dipie? Does he want me to change it for him?" Bacchus says with a mock pout on his face.

I push the drunk's face away from me, "You smell like booze."

He chuckles, "Well, morning to you, too."

I go over to the cabinets and pull out two plates, trading one of the plates with Bacchus who hands me a glass of orange juice in return. We grab some of the scrambled eggs Ur made and pluck some of the bacon off of my mom's skillet.

"Boys…" She growls at us, "Don't come whining to me when you're shitting your brains out from eating raw bacon."

"We won't," we call back before proceeding to the dining room.

"It's not like we can," I mutter underneath my breath to Bacchus who just snorts in agreement. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention how we're all a bunch of werewolves. Welcome to the family.

At the long, rustic dining table sat my red haired father, Igneel, at the head, a mean looking guy, Metallicana, sitting to the right of him with his raven haired son, Gajeel, sitting next to him. On the other side of my father sat the orange haired, go-lucky, Gildarts whose wasted daughter, Cana, sat next to. Bacchus quickly took his seat next to Cana and sneakily snuck a hand inside her bra where her flask of God knows what was hidden, and poured the mystery drink into his orange juice. Cana gave him the stink eye and he just kissed her on the cheek before putting the flask back into its rightful place in her bra.

I roll my eyes before walking around the table to sit in between Gajeel and Bixlow, who sat next to a grumpy Laxus, who sat next to Freed, the green haired man currently trying to stuff a whole piece of toast into his mouth with no avail.

Next to Bacchus sat Ultear who slapped his hand away when trying to steal some of her bacon, calling him a "Dirty Douche-like Snail". Wendy sat next to Ultear and giggled at the two's antics. Ur then dragged Gray in by his ear and sat across from him with my mom taking the other end of the table, facing my father.

My mother raises her cup of coffee to my father who raises his back before they continue on with their own conversations, never really leaving from each other's gazes though. _Mates_, I think, _they're so lovey_ _dovey it makes me want to puke half of the time._

"Yo Natsu, you going to eat that?" I turn my head to see the greedy, red eyes of Gajeel eyeing my plate and I roll my eyes.

"Yes," I say before practically sticking the plate down my throat as I scarf down my breakfast.

Gajeel just stares at my once full, now empty, plate with a frown and looks up at me, "I don't like you," he grumbles.

"Well, I don't like you either," I sneer at him before downing my orange juice and getting up from the table with my plate in hand. I walk around the table, picking up empty plates as I went, and make it to the kitchen where I begin to stuff everything into the dishwasher. Laxus soon comes over and joins me, bopping me out of his way to the dishwasher soap.

I chuckle, "What the hell, Laxus?"

The blonde haired boy just shrugs, "I don't know, I mean, why not booty-bop in the middle of the kitchen?"

I laugh and shake my head at the college student before turning around to see a disturbed Gray coming into the kitchen with more plates stacked in his hands. Gajeel follows after him along with Wendy and Cana, who place their plates on top of a surprised Gray's head.

I grab my lunch, a brown paper bag marked with my name on it, off of the kitchen counter and make my way up stairs to get ready for school that started in an hour. I jog down the winding halls to my room and strip out of my sweat pants into jeans and a light gray band tee shirt that said 'NIRVANA' in faded, dark gray letters. I throw the scaly scarf my dad gave me around my neck before stuffing my lunch into my plain, black backpack I sling on. I walk back out of my room and down the stairs to wait for the rest of the guys in the foyer.

_Seniors, huh?_ I think as I plod down the stairs. I've been a senior since September and now it's a month later, October. Wow, I _still _can't believe it.

"_You know as much as I do dear that they're still recovering." _I cock an eyebrow - that sounded like my mom…

"_I know, but honey, they don't have souls - and now their mysterious new heir is inching closer to their coming of age…" _And that's my dad… what are they talking about? New heir?

"_Honey,"_ back to my mom,_ "just don't worry about them right now. The Heartfilia's have other things to worry about than us, there are many more threats…"_

_Heartfilia's…_ ugh, I think I'm going to be sick.

**888**

I remember back when I was kid, people would ask me, "What's your favorite subject?" I remember I would answer them with Math or Science or Gym or whatever, and now I think if someone were to ask me that question, my answer would most definitely be lunch. Lunch, everyone's free period, where you get to eat and hang out with your friends at the same time. It's definitely the best period ever created.

I walk over to my friends sitting at one of the cafeteria's round tables, and take my seat in between Bacchus and Gray, who were in their own conversations with everyone else at the table. I take my lunch out from its paper bag and begin munching on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, stopping when Bacchus nudges me with his elbow.

"Dude," he says, "we _have_ to do something for your coming of age."

Oh… right… _that_.

I'm coming of age to not only be able to take my father's place if needed, but also to find my mate that I'll have to spend the rest of my life with.

There's only two other people I know that have already turned eighteen, already having their coming of age, except neither of them is heir and only one has found their mate.

Those lucky guys are Laxus and Bacchus. Laxus turned eighteen three years ago and is still searching for his mate, while Bacchus, who just turned eighteen in September, has his sights set on a certain alcoholic. It's sort of a 'win or lose' situation, this entire 'mating' thing, some people never even find their mates.

And I come of age to do all of that on _my_ eighteenth birthday.

Which is in a week.

Yay me.

"What do you mean?" I ask, "Aren't my parents already throwing some stupid party?"

Bacchus looks at me like I was a retard and I turn to see Gray rolling his eyes, "Idiot," he mutters, "he means that _we_ should do something."

Now everyone at the table had their full attention on our conversation.

Gajeel, quickly catching on, smirks, "No adults."

"No fancy clothes," Bixlow adds on excitedly.

"No behaving…" Gray mumbles, wiggling his eyebrows like a huge creep.

"And no restrictions," Bacchus says with a sly grin on his face.

I leer, "I get it… but where'd we go?"

"How about that new club, 'Fairy Tail'?" Freed pipes out.

Gajeel nods and claps Freed on the back, "Yeah that actually doesn't sound that bad."

Bacchus slaps the table, "I'm in - tonight sounds good?"

I nod my head, "Great Friday night plans boys, let's do it."

**888**

I finish tying my white boxing tape around my hands along with stringing my scarf around my waist before heading out of the boy's locker room and into the school's weight room, where Magnolia High School's Boys Boxing Club met.

I walk through the room where the Club's members were lifting and exercising, stopping behind Gajeel who stood in the corner of the boxing ring with his clipboard in hand, keeping down the score of the match that was currently going on.

"Who's winning?" I ask as I look at the two guys circling each other, neither one brave enough to hit the other.

He sighs, "Neither."

I nod my head and watch as the two continue to circle each other, both flinching when the other jabs his hand out, nowhere near the other. "Want me to pick a different match?" I suggest to the bored boy who was clicking his pen on and off with his forehead.

Gajeel rips their paper off and crumbles it into a tiny ball, throwing it behind him as he replies with, "Please do."

I look around the gym in search of two good candidates, my eyes stopping when they spot the black and blonde heads of two Juniors lifting in the corner.

"You two," I call to the two guys, getting their curious stares my way in return, "fight." I command.

They quickly glance at each other before shrugging and sliding under the blue ropes along the perimeter of the ring, inside. I walk over to where we kept the boxing equipment and throw them their gloves. The blonde puts them on, but the other one just holds them in his hands, not doing anything.

"Hey!" I call to the black haired kid, "Uh…"

"Rogue," Gajeel reminds me.

"Rogue! Put on your gloves and get ready to practice!" I bark at him.

"No," the blonde kid answers for Rogue, "we won't fight."

I raise my eyebrows and tilt my head to the side, "Really? And why's that?"

The kid smirks, "Because it's unfair."

I narrow my eyes at him, "How?"

"It's simple, you and red eyes never fight anyone. Where does it say that the Head Boxers don't fight, but can coordinate all the matches that happen here?" He argues.

I smirk, "Are you challenging me?"

He clicks his tongue, "I might be."

I stare back at my friend who turned around to face me, looking like he was about to break the clipboard clutched in his hands. "Gajeel," I start, "change the match to me and blondie over there."

"Sting," the boy pipes up, "my name's Sting."

I begin to walk along the siding of the ring when I feel Gajeel put a hand on my shoulder as he mumbles into my ear, "Hold back, okay? We don't need any deaths here."

I grin maliciously at him, "I'll try."

I slip under the ropes into the ring, rejecting the boxing gloves Rogue offers me. He then slides out and leans against the ring's walls in anticipation of watching his friend fight. Sting puts his hands on either side of his face in his boxing stance while I just stand there with my arms hanging lazily at my sides.

"You ready, _Sting?_" I sneer at the jumpy blonde.

He shakes his head, "You have no idea what you just got yourself into, Dragneel."

"Not as much as you," I mutter darkly.

Gajeel blows the whistle signaling that the fight had begun.

Sting automatically dashes over to me, bringing his fist in to hook my head, but I expected he'd do that by the way his muscles tensed before disengaging the tightness in his arm to throw his fist forward.

I caught his glove in mid-air and smiled at his surprised face. I made a fist with my other hand and threw his move back at him, slamming my bare fist to the side of his head, making him immediately crumple to the floor unconscious.

I pick up the blonde as easily as if he were a sack of potatoes and drag him out of the ring to the Nurse's Office with Rogue trailing behind me. When we arrive, she doesn't seem surprised to have someone from the Boxing Club come in, actually a little exasperated since in the other plastic chairs sat members of practically every after school activity - the Baseball Team, Melee Club, Boys Lacrosse Team, and Girls Soccer Team with their escorts standing in front of them, filling out the paperwork of what had happened. I take one of the forms before dropping Sting into the seat next to one of the kids from the baseball team whose two front teeth were missing.

I wince, "Ouch," I turn around and look at my friends who filled out the papers for their injured teammates. "Hey Freed?" I ask the green haired boy next to me, "What happened to your guy?"

Freed looks up from his paperwork and sighs, "Bixlow was doing a fast ball and this idiot moved at the last second, making the ball hit out his two front teeth instead of his position at batting."

"Probably did both - this guy wouldn't want to come back to your team for nothing, now," I joke with Freed who just chuckles and shakes his head as he continues to fill out his paperwork.

I glance around the room to see the kid from the Melee Club cradling his shoulder with Bacchus filling out his form, offering him a drink from his flask when the Nurse wasn't looking, to which the guy gladly gulps down. The guy next to him was from the Lacrosse Team and his leg looked pretty fucked up from the looks of it, with his foot pointing the opposite it was supposed to. I watch as Gray gives the boy a pep talk before going back to filling out the paperwork. At the end of the row was a girl with a black eye with my sister comforting the crying girl. I lean over so I could see Cana roll her eyes and continue to fill out the form in her large goalie gloves. At least I'm not the only one.

I quickly fill out the form, having done this many times before when Gajeel pitted two good (or one good and one bad) fighters together.

**NAME:** _Sting_

**DATE:** _10/10_

**DURING PERIOD/CLUB/SPORT:** _Boys Boxing Club_

**CAUSE:** _Blow to the side of the face_

**EFFECT:** _Unconscious, possible concussion_

**ESCORT:** _Natsu Dragneel_

I hand in the form and leave Rogue there to gawk at the other injured people as well as my friends, who just smile and wave at him like this was normal for them, which it was.

I make my way back to the weight room just in time to see Gajeel dismiss the club. He walks with me into the locker room and starts changing into his sweats. I throw on a shirt and sweat pants before turning my attention over to Gajeel who had an annoyed look on his face.

"What?" I ask as I take my gym bag out of my locker.

"I said go easy on him," he snarls.

I shrug, "I did."

"Dude, you knocked the kid out less than five seconds in! How is that going easy on him?" Gajeel pesters me.

I snort, "I didn't kill him, did I?"

He sighs as he rubs his studded face with his hands, knotting them into his long hair, "No, you didn't."

I grin from ear to ear, "There you go! Optimism!"

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, I enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! Please leave a review - like always, constructional criticism is welcome if you have this burning desire to give it!**

**Oh! And in case you have no idea who's a Dragneel, here's a list:**

**-Igneel**

**-Grandine**

**-Metallicana**

**-Ur**

**-Gildarts**

**-Natsu**

**-Wendy**

**-Cana**

**-Gray**

**-Gajeel**

**-Bacchus**

**-Bixlow**

**-Freed**

**-Laxus**

**-Ultear**

**I hope you guys like the story as it progresses and all the little twists and turns I add in!**

**Next chapter, we meet our other main characters - the Heartfilia's!**

**Peace!**

**-idevourbooks**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note after Editing:**

**Meet the Hearfilia's!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Two**

**Lucy's POV**

The house was still, the air undisturbed as all of its fourteen occupants were still fast asleep – all except me. I had woken abruptly in the middle of the day, not even trying to fall back asleep as I knew my churning stomach and racing thoughts would not allow me to rest. Instead, I listened for hours to the bustling of the nearby city from a distance, tucked safely away in my bed behind the thick, floor-to-ceiling curtains that covered the three, massive windows in my room. Now, with the third set of curtains somewhat ajar, I wait on my bed for the sun's rays to slowly disappear behind the horizon before waltzing over to the massive window and plopping down on the seat of a sill.

Pulling my knees up to my chest, I gaze out at the landscape surrounding Heartfilia Mansion. It wasn't much; most would view it as merely a dense forest filled with towering pines, but from my window, from my eyes, if you really looked hard enough, you could see a bubbling creek in the distance where tons of fireflies would gather around, lighting up the area like millions of little stars on earth. Of course, they weren't out just yet; it was only seven in the evening and the moon was just making its first appearance on the stage that is the night sky.

The sound of footsteps clomping up the stairs dance lightly into my ears and I identify the steps to belong to my longtime friend, Mirajane Strauss. I hear her pad barefoot down the West Wing, knocking on the three doors of the only sorcerers in Heartfilia Mansion as she went, which gained her three grunts in return, signaling they were all getting up. Mirajane had always been our designated early bird – she was the one who woke us all up, dragging us out of bed by our ears if she had to, since she believed a productive clan was a strong one.

I hear her halt in front of my room, which was at the very end of the lengthy hall, and look over my shoulder so my gaze was trained on the doors that were slowly opening. She sneaks her platinum haired head in with her sapphire eyes wide and searching, stopping as soon as they meet mine. She smiles sweetly at me and saunters in with her long purple skirts whisking around her.

Mirajane's style was very spiritual and all of her own creation (I partly believe it is because she was a full-blown flower child before becoming a bloodsucker). She enjoyed her colorful layered skirts that trailed on the ground behind her along with her just-as-vibrant tops that changed from season to season. Since it is autumn, she is adorned with darker colors; her skirts ranging from the deep plum of twilight to the bright magenta of daybreak and her top – that loosely resembles a corset – matches the colors of her skirt, the shirt was dark while the strings that held it together were light.

She shuts the door softly behind her and we share a few unspoken words between our met gazes. Her eyes are soft and kind, examining and analyzing me, before she crosses the room, never breaking eye contact. She comes to stand in front of me, leaning her back against the dark cherry frame surrounding the window and sighs, her chest rising and falling slowly in time with the exhale.

"I didn't expect you to be up already," she voices, but her stoic expression shows that she was clearly not surprised.

I don't say anything and instead look out the window at the sky, where the navy night clashes with the violet streaks the day left behind. Mirajane already knew why I was up. She did the same thing every day, after all.

Through her reflection in the window, I can see her frown, her brows furrowing slightly as she mutters, "Was it the nightmare again?"

Her voice held a hint of sadness to it, and it was obvious to me as to why – she still missed the girl who was lost after that night and pitied the one who returned. Mirajane already knew the answer to her question, but I nod anyway to amuse the woman. I then fully turn to face Mirajane and see her looking up at the ceiling with an unreadable expression on.

"How long have you been up?" she solemnly inquires, unconsciously fingering the string that held her corset-like top together.

I gulp, knowing she is going to be angry with me when she hears my answer, "Since three."

I watch as she breathes out a long breath through her teeth, rubbing her face with her hands, "Jesus Lu," she mumbles out. It becomes rather quiet after that, and I'm not ashamed to say I was thankful for that silence. That I was thankful to just have that moment to make sure I could keep myself contained, to keep my emotions in check.

She looks down at me and her frown deepens, her cerulean eyes calculating. Finally, she suggests, "You want to talk about it?"

I smile a sad smile at her words, stating what we both already know, "You know what happens." Almost as an afterthought, I whisper, "We all know."

Mirajane bites her lip and shakes her head at me in a way that says I didn't fully understand her offer, "Yes, but at the same time, we don't. We didn't experience it. That… that's only something you know. You're the one who knows how you felt, and every single detail that led up to that, so if you need to speak your mind, if you need to let those emotions out so they don't weigh as much as your shoulders, we're here for you."

"I know, and thank you, but…" I purse my lips, trying to put what I was currently thinking into words, "there are somethings I'd rather not poison your minds with. I'd rather have a happy family to be with that one that hurts." I admit somberly.

"If that's what you want..." she breathes airily, her voice not entirely sure if what she was saying was true.

It becomes silent after that, and I can finally feel the grimness polluting the air around me, knowing that most of it was radiating off of me. I also know that if I didn't change my attitude fast enough, Mirajane would be like this all night, serious and dark, but that would be going against practically everything she was. Mirajane was bright and hopeful, not dark and gloomy. So quickly, I try to lighten the atmosphere.

I laugh.

I grin and laugh and act like whom I was; a teenage girl chatting with a friend, "We sound so eighteenth century when we talk all serious like that."

Mirajane stares oddly at me for a moment, not fully understanding what I was trying to accomplish through my sudden mood swing, before giggling along with me, "I know!" She chuckles.

Smirking to myself at the fact that she took the bait, I slide off of the sill and loop my arm through hers, looking up at the ceiling as if remembering a memory from long ago, but in reality, I'm just thinking to myself, _I am one Hell of an actor_. I hum lightly, "It was sort of like back in the old days…"

Mirajane rolls her eyes at me before beginning to guide me towards my bedroom doors, "What are you talking about, Lu? You were born in 1996, not 1796."

I sigh, still pretending to seem as if my mind was in a far-off world, "I know."

She snorts at me as she drags me out of my room and down the dimly lit hall, whose ebony tiled floors and dark cherry wood walls were practically the only highlights of my childhood, to the wooden stairs, "Have you been watching too many of those cheesy vampire shows?"

I shrug, my act of being a normal teen fading as I think of a particular show I was currently binge-watching, "Maybe…" Mirajane groans in response, to which I quickly defend myself, "Hey, I'm sorry, but those Salvatore brothers are hot!"

Mirajane closes her eyes and moans, "Ugh! You're right! Why can't vampires look like that in real life?"

I laugh as we begin to descend the numerous stairs, "I don't know, Mira, I don't know."

She groans, unknowingly squeezing my arm as she voices her troubles to me, "I mean, then it'd probably be so much _easier_ to find a mate!"

I cringe, scrunching up my face at the last word, "Don't remind me of that, please – I have enough to worry about with my coming of age."

Mirajane sighs, her grip loosening as well, "I know, but it's not like you can avoid it! You're going to turn eighteen eventually! Which is in how many months?"

I moan, a pout forming my lips, "New Year's Eve. My birthday's on New Year's Eve, Mira."

"Besides," she starts, completely ignoring my last statement. We reach the last step of the stairs and she turns to face me, squeezing my shoulders tightly, "you should be excited! You're going to be able to take your rightful place as our Leader! Sure, it's a little nerve racking, and add on the pressure to find a mate it may seem _unbearable_ –"

"Not helping, Mira."

"– but I was never made our Leader when I turned eighteen. All I got was the ability to find a mate, but even I haven't found Mr. Right and it's been how many years? Two?"_ Still not helping… _"Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't be dreading your coming of age, you should embrace it! All this really is is a new chapter of your life starting – an adventure waiting to happen! So have fun! And don't think negatively about it – it won't do you any good."

I try to absorb what Mira said as best as I can before allowing a smile to form on my lips, "Thanks," I mumble.

Mirajane just squeals before hugging me, ranting on and on about how fun it was going to be and how she couldn't wait. I eventually wiggle out of her grasp and we walk together – yet separated, now – into the kitchen, where greeting us on one of the onyx granite counters in the corner of the room, sat my good friend Erza, making out with her mate, Jellal.

Frozen to my spot, I peek at Mirajane from the corner of my eye and we share the same cunning look before training our gazes back to the redhead being ravished by the azure haired man. They probably woke earlier than everyone else to get in a private session in a not so private location, making the scene all the more disturbing and disgusting.

When Erza begins to play with the hem of his shirt, I waste no time in loudly clearing my throat causing the two to spring apart; Erza whamming the back of her head on the kitchen cabinets while Jellal practically falls on his ass from Erza pushing him so hard. I raise an accusing brow at them and watch Jellal scramble onto his feet, adjusting his risen, sweat-stained white tank before scurrying away, only to trip onto his face from his gray sweat pants that were just too long. I stifle a laugh and have to bite back from spitting out a crude comment, instead allowing Jellal to retreat to his quarters with some sense of dignity.

I then turn my attention over to Erza who was currently rubbing the back of her head tenderly with a pout adorning her face. I give her the up-down and notice how her sleep shorts were no longer on, revealing her hot pink, lacy underwear she only wore for 'special occasions', and that the left spaghetti strap of her tank top was hanging off of her shoulder, a hickey taking its pace.

I glance at Mira who in turn glances at me, and know she was thinking the same thing I was thinking: interrogation.

I walk around the island in the middle of the kitchen, picking up Erza's shorts that were carelessly thrown onto the floor while I was at it, and stand in front of the scarlet haired girl. She bounces off of the counter and takes her shorts when I offer them to her, not meeting my eyes as she does. I can see the dark blush conquering her cheeks even though her bangs keep the majority of her face hidden from view as she slides on the Bermuda's before turning around to open up one of the cabinets. She then somewhat shakily takes down a handful of mugs for the three of us, not even daring to let out a puff of air as she does.

When Erza faces us again, this time with her face not as hot, Mirajane and I have already cornered her, ready to put our plan into action. Erza seems to have pieced it together since she's nervously glancing back and forth between me and the ivory haired beauty, weighing her options of whom she would succeed to get past and whom she would have to clash with.

But lucky for Erza, in that very moment a teenage boy was walking into the kitchen, looking at us like we were a bunch of weirdo's, and asks me where the bunny blood was.

I sigh, exasperatedly glaring at the teen over my shoulder, "Really Romeo? Right now?"

The dark haired boy merely shrugs, "I'm hungry! What can I say?"

I roll my eyes at him before sharply narrowing my eyes at Erza, "Next time, okay? Next time, you won't be saved."

Erza gulps and turns around to pull another mug from the cabinet while Mirajane struts over to one of our two fridges, not before nudging Erza playfully, though, and opens it wide, its crappy, overhead light dousing her in a yellow glow. I eye Mirajane from my newfound seat at the island as she sifts through all of the containers of blood before suddenly grabbing one with a look of triumph painted across her face.

"Bunny blood!" She squeals in delight before shutting the fridge with the carton clutched in her hands. It used to be a container filled with apple juice, but of course no one here drinks that, save for the few sorcerers living with us, so it now holds fifty-nine fluid ounces of bunny blood.

Mirajane hands the carton to Erza who pours the thick, scarlet liquid into the four mugs, handing them out to Romeo, Mirajane, herself, and me. Romeo and I clink mugs together before downing our drinks, savoring the metallic taste it left in our mouths and taking pleasure in the buzz it gave us – it is sort of like what humans call, 'coffee', except for beings like us, vampires.

I watch, amused, as the fourteen year old boy next to me swishes the bunny blood around his mouth and sigh after swallowing another mouthful of my own, "So, you ready for today?" I ask him.

Romeo stares longingly into his empty mug, "As ready as I'll ever be," he grumbles.

"What's today?" We all turn around to face the two, blue haired girls who just walked in, looking like they were about to go to war. The two females were the two out of the three sorcerers living here at 'Hotel Transylvania', and they currently sported cargo pants ending at their mid-calves with black tank tops, making them look like wannabe soldiers. Even though they were barefoot, the thick dark lines painted underneath their eyes showed that they were damn serious about their get-up.

The taller girl, known as Juvia Loxar, had her long, lapis hair pulled back into a pony tail and was making her way over to the other refrigerator, where she opens it up to reveal tons of human food. Different juices, fruits, meats, cheeses, and all kinds of vegetables along with dozens of dairy products the girls either got from the supermarket in town (that we nicknamed, "Expensive and Worthless") or from us (given we give them the meat of the animals we killed) filled the fridge to the brim.

Juvia easily pulls out the orange juice from the mass and places it on the counter before grabbing two glasses from the cabinets Erza was currently leaning on. Levy, the more petite one of the two whose cropped cobalt hair was held back by an ink bandana, came over to help Juvia pour the drink into their glasses. We all stare in wonder at the orange drink the two girls gulp down, having to be dragged out of our reverie by Levy asking her question again, "What's today?"

I nudge Romeo in the ribs to bring him back down to Earth so he could answer the question. He practically jumps out of his skin and frantically looks around before his eyes land on Levy with an eyebrow raised his way. Romeo smiles sheepishly and mumbles, "What was the question?"

Boy, do I worry about this kid.

Levy sighs and repeats the question yet again, this time more irked, "What's today, Romeo?"

A grin takes no time to swallow his face whole as he proudly puffs his chest out, announcing, "It's my First Hunt."

Mirajane, Erza, and I all cheer at his words, knowing just how special this matter was to vampires. We then continue to go the extra mile and pat Romeo on the back before dramatically pinching his cheeks, saying what a 'big boy' he was now. Romeo snickers and swats our hands away before we all turn back to Levy who nods before pursing her lips, trying to seem like she understood.

Juvia, on the other hand, doesn't even try to hide her confusion as she just stands there looking utterly dumbfounded, "Um," she starts, a nervous smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "Juvia doesn't really know what that means… since she and Levy are not vampires."

We all abruptly pause our cheering to stop and think for a second, trying to conjure up a simple way of how we were going to explain this to the two sorcerers. I must have come up with an explanation first, since I begin to explain what a First Hunt was.

"It's basically a vampire's first time drinking human blood from the vein," I sum up.

The two girls take a moment before hesitantly nodding in comprehension, appearing as if they now have a better understanding (though they were obviously still not grasping the importance of the situation), before bidding Romeo good luck as they quickly say their farewells.

I furrow my brow as Levy claps my shoulder as a form of goodbye, "Where are you guys going?" I inquire to the shorter girl.

Levy beams at me, "To the training rooms in the basement! Juvia and I are going all out today with our magic, so I advise you take heed before coming down there!" She finishes with a wink to which I simply snort at.

"No need to warn the undead, Levy," I mutter from the inside of my mug, making it her turn to snort as she smacks the back of my head, causing me to sputter on blood while she sassily turns on her heel out of the kitchen.

We wave them away (me still choking on blood as I do) and everything goes quiet for about two seconds flat before Erza opens her mouth to tell the story of her First Hunt with a cheerful gleam in her eyes, "It went really well, except for the fact that the police came towards the end of my feeding and then everything plummeted downhill from there."

Mirajane evidently winces at Erza's words, "I remember that – it was my first time, too. We ran so fast you probably saw smoke rising from our hot tracks."

Erza chuckles at the memory and I allow a smirk to dance around my lips at a bittersweet memory of my own, "I remember my mother telling me about that. She said that I should do exactly what you guys did, except of course, minus the almost getting caught part."

Erza nods with a solemn grin adorning her face, "We were lucky we even got to erase their memories before the police came."

The silence that then envelopes us is comfortable, yet Romeo still smirks and puffs his chest out even more, deciding to break the quiet with this confident statement, "Well, I'll make sure not to do that on my hunt."

I snort, "I hope."

**888**

I part my hair into two, low pigtails and fix my blonde bangs with my fingers before looking at myself in the mirror. My black army boots ended at my mid-calf and my black leggings hugged my legs nicely, allowing me to move around in them easily. My black turtle neck was snug on me and covered most of my noticeable, porcelain skin and my thick, black belt that was loosely strung on my hips held my whip and communicator I used to keep in contact with the others. I would be merely a shadow with my dark clothing and dark eyes, but my blonde hair would make me unmistakable.

I never did anything about my hair, though. I mean I used to, but not anymore. I know it sounds cheesy and stupid, but I kept my hair out to remind me that I wasn't alone since my mother had the same exact hair as me. It's almost as if my hair is a memory of her in its own way, so I don't try to cover it up.

I'm proud of it, actually. It's like saying, "My mother was a great woman and no one shall say anything different," except my hair's doing all of the talking. It's stupid, I know, but it makes me happy. Besides, Mirajane doesn't cover up her hair and have you seen that mass of _white_ hair? It's like she's screaming, "COME AND GET ME – I'M DOING SOMETHING ILLEGAL!"

I roll my eyes at my rambling self before glancing around my room to see if I had forgotten anything. It didn't seem like it, my bed was made and my desk was perfectly cleared on the opposite side of the room while the bathroom door that was left ajar on the same wall told me that everything was turned off. The faucet wasn't running and the lights were out, and in my room my dresser was closed and none of my lamps were on.

I had thrown the thick, charcoal curtains over the three, floor to ceiling windows just in case we came back a little later than expected and the sun was already beginning to rise, so why did I feel like I was forgetting to do something? If I did forget something, it wasn't anything important if I couldn't remember it – _the balcony door!_

I quickly curse myself for not remembering one of the most significant things to do (I always forgot it either way) and rush over to the middle, floor to ceiling window, throwing back the curtains to reveal a glass door that was left wide open. I sigh and quickly close it, before throwing the curtains back over the window that doubled as a doorway.

I quickly run through the checklist once more prior to turning on my heel and slipping through my bedroom's double doors. Taking long strides down the hallway, I almost ram into an innocent, late sleeper who was just coming out of their bedroom. I swiftly dodge them, though, giving them a heart attack as I do.

"Sorry Gramps!" I call to him as I continue down the hall.

"Careful brat! We don't need any more deaths in this household!" I hear the old wizard call after me. I turn around to face him and continue to jog backwards, winking at the short, old man clad in a white, fluffy bathrobe with a grin plastered onto my face.

That was the last sorcerer staying here at 'Vampire Residences' and he was currently our temporary leader until I could step up to the plate. Gramps was very good friends with my parents and his real name is actually Makarov Dreyar, not Gramps even though that's what everyone calls him. He had four children, three girls and one boy, but even though they were all deceased now, they had their own kids, blessing Makarov with four grandchildren.

Two girls and two boys, his pride and joy, and the two girls were currently downstairs, practicing their magic. His grandsons, though, he only saw once when they were being born, but after that, he never saw them again. Makarov was always searching for them, wondering how his grandsons turned out since it's been two decades since he's last seen them. Don't get him wrong, Makarov loves his granddaughters (no more or less than he loves the rest of us), but I guess I'd be curious, too, as to how someone of my blood turned out.

I turn back around when I reach the stairs and practically fly down them to the main floor. I then jog over to one of the walls in the foyer, where I push on one of the wooden panels for it to open wide like a door and reveal a set of concrete steps, the area being lit by large, bowl-like, florescent lights hanging from the ceiling. I hop down the steps that seem to go on forever, deep under the house, and when they stop, I walk into the concrete basement, where the high ceilings held more of the bowl-like lights and a bulletproof glass wall separated one side of the room from the other. On the other side of the bullet proof wall, there were targets in the form of people and different animals, and Levy and Juvia were firing their magic at them, showing no mercy.

Sorcerers performed ordinary magic like telekinesis, but each had their own special magic they practiced. For example, Levy practiced something called 'Solid Script', where she created words that became what they were (the word fire would actually be on fire) and Juvia specified in Water Magic – she was up to the point where she could practically manipulate water to do anything what she wanted.

Makarov has been making me practice magic as well, and I know it sounds weird – a vampire practicing magic? That's unheard of! But I guess if you're the heir to your clan and your grandmother was a well-known sorcerer, it sort of fell upon you to know something. I only knew the basics of magic, and I knew a few spells of my own specialty, which was Celestial Magic. I still had a long way to go and the road to improvement was definitely _not_ paved, but when I took up magic I knew it wouldn't be easy, so I never complained. Even when Makarov had the weirdest people come over and teach me different things, I didn't say a thing. They may have been a little bit insane, but damn, they were helpful.

I round the corner into the weapons area, where I find Romeo, Mirajane, and Erza joking around with the guns. Romeo was thankfully in the right outfit, with black jeans that went over his black combat boots and a black turtle neck. His black, leather belt held his silver, tactical knife with the dark hilt poking out of its sheath. Thank God he wasn't dumb enough to dress in something flashy.

My eyes land on Erza whose long, scarlet hair was pulled back into a high ponytail with her bangs swept to the side, covering part of her face. She wore black leggings and a sleeveless, black turtle neck with short, black boots. On her back was strapped Erza's two, favorite Katana that she polished daily along with the tons of other weapons she kept in her room. Yes, this basement filled with everything from shotguns to Ninja Stars was not the last of the weapons in this house.

Finally, my eyes trail over to Mirajane whose alabaster hair tumbled down her shoulders with part of it in a stubby ponytail at the top of her head. She was in a similar outfit to mine, the long sleeved turtle neck and dark pants hugging her every curve, except she had black leather, high-heeled boots that rose up to her mid-thigh and she bore no weapons. Mirajane made herself her own weapon.

I clear my throat and they all turn to face me with an excited glint in their eyes. I grin, "Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note After Editing:**

**SO SORRY FOR BEING SO INACTIVE!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Three**

**Lucy's POV**

Bright lights shine down onto the bustling streets of Magnolia from the digital billboards hung on the sides of buildings, where life sprung from every corner in the city on this Friday night. Taxis zoom to and fro through bumper-to-bumper traffic, people roam in and out of the stores laid out on the main roads, and restaurants fill to the very brim with customers. Manholes release a pungent gas that rises up into the atmosphere and my eyes follow the wisps of smoke until they disappear into thin air. I soon realize that in the city, the moon was barely visible, much less the stars, unlike back at the mansion where the night sky was proudly on display at all times during the late hours of the day.

A chorus of horns sound everywhere as drivers become impatient, being stuck in the snail-like commute on the roads and I then have to strain my ears to listen in to the pedestrians' conversations, consisting of everything from taxes to school crushes, both of which are foreign to me. I frown as I stare down at the people below me, wondering why their lives are a complete opposite of mine, even if they weren't that different from me. We look the same, walk the same, talk the same, yet we were just born into different families, and are of course, different species. _So similar, yet so different…_

We may look the same, yet we follow a life completely different from that of a humans. Their schedules were made up of work or school and getting together with friends, while ours had hunting, training, and home-schooling along with 'family-time' squeezed somewhere in there. Their worries include what shoes to buy or what college to go to, while our worries consist of how we were going to get through the day staying under the radar with so many enemies around every corner. Their diets were an array of foods and tastes and colors, while ours was blood. Even though just hearing the word 'blood' makes my heart sing, I still want to try other things, though I've learned the hard way that change wasn't always as good as everyone made it up to be.

I can't help but feel envious of humans – they had it so easy. Life wasn't hard for them, if anything, it was more like a walk in the park while my life was a mad dash through thorn bushes and fire. _Why were we so different?_

A hand on my shoulder gains my attention and I turn my head to face the scarlet haired beauty, Erza, staring at me with a knowing look dressing her face.

I sigh, catching a glimpse of my breath as it floats away into the crisp, October air, and mumble, "It's just so unfair, ya' know?"

The brown eyed girl just smiles sadly, jerking her head backwards as a signal for me to come join the rest of my group. I return the gesture and nod at her, following the girl as she leads me into the shadows of another building that blocked this apartment complex's view of the three-quarter moon high in the sky.

I stop in front of Romeo sitting on the ground, watching the young teen as he plays with the fraying bottom of his black jeans before playfully ruffling his dark hair, causing him to whirl his head around and give me the stink eye. I shrug and he just rolls his eyes at me as I rest my hand on his head, gazing out at the other two people in my group who were practically invisible in the darkness, their black clothing camouflaging them _almost_ perfectly as their brown and blue eyes, along with their red and white hair, stand out like beacons on them.

I clear my throat and gain the attention of all three of my companions, Erza, Romeo, and Mirajane, before giving orders, "Romeo," I stare down at the fourteen year old, "since you are still unexperienced, Erza and I will go off and feed as a demonstration. You are to stay here with Mirajane. Mira," said girl's sapphire eyes meet mine, "make sure he doesn't go anywhere, okay?"

They all nod curtly and I swiftly turn on my heel with Erza trailing behind me. I break into a run, heading straight towards the edge of the flat roof of the building, my speed picking up as I come closer to the drop. One foot away from the ledge, I jump, pushing myself forward as I prepare my legs for the impact of landing on the roof of the building next door. The collision with the solid cement viciously jolts through my legs, but I barely feel a thing as I continue to run, dashing across the roof top before jumping onto the next one with Erza right behind me. Muffled whispers come from a dark alleyway ahead of us and I nimbly skid to a stop at the edge of the roof, crouching close to the ground with Erza doing the same.

I peek over the ledge and spot two men, maybe late thirties from the looks of it, both with a clean shaven face and fine-pressed, navy suits that looked like not even a speck of dust was caught on the fabric. The blonde one of the two held a beer in his hand and was cracking jokes with the other dark haired man, the latter chuckling as he puffed his cigar. They were most likely two business men, hanging outside of a bar's back exit to chat in private. I steal a glance at Erza and her eyes meet mine, her carob irises' already being flecked with the crimson they turned into when feeding.

I slowly nod my head at the hungry girl, before standing up and stepping over the ledge of the roof, allowing gravity to pull my body back to the ground fifty feet below me. My rubber soles slap thunderously against the damp pavement as I land in a crouch, my blonde bangs hiding my face as I slowly rise to my full height of 5'4" with Erza nimbly landing right behind me. I keep my head down as I peek through my bangs at the two business men staring at us, a mixture of confusion and panic etched into their expressions.

I intently take notice to the dark haired man swallowing a lump in his throat as he opens his mouth to speak, his cigar carelessly falling to the ground. "W-who are you?" He shakily manages out.

I let a large, conniving simper creep across my lips, allowing all of my teeth to show along with my now-jagged canines. Whoever said to not play with your food should know that their words have fallen upon the unhearing ears of vampires, since play-time was the best-time for us.

"'Who are you'?" I ask, my head tilting to the side, "I believe the question you should be asking is not, 'who are you', but…"

I gradually bring my face up to no longer see them through my bangs, watching as their horrified expressions worsen at the revealing of my face. I guess they've never seen a blonde with fangs and red eyes before, huh?

"… 'what are you'."

The two mens' jaws drop as they slowly back away, Erza and I advancing with each step they take. One step back and one step forward, one step back and one step forward, it was almost like a game we were playing with them – until of course, Erza begins to get tired of the pointless pastime.

I hear the redhead growl from behind me, and observe the frightened men who flinch at the sound. I can sense Erza dash past me as she suddenly reappears again behind the two men a split second later, her enhanced speed allowing her to move as fast as light. Her hand comes down hard on the blonde's shoulder, clasping him in place as her face moves so her cheek was pressed right up against his. I watch as her eyes – that were now a complete, blood-thirsty currant – stare into the man's scared arctic ones that gaze into hers with pure horror masking his face.

"Let's get to the point, shall we?" She growls, showing off her own sharp teeth, and before the man could let his screams touch the air, Erza's free hand tightly clamps over his mouth, muffling his cries for help. She whips his head to the side away from her, exposing his bare neck to her, and she swiftly brings her bared teeth down to the man's soft flesh, her pearly fangs piercing deep into the man's skin as blood begins to dribble down the man's neck, staining his perfect clothes.

I can hear the dark haired man's shoes thwacking hurriedly against the damp pavement and quickly dart towards the man, stopping right in front of him a moment later. The man skids to a stop and begins to back up, staring into my eyes fearfully as I take a large step forward, my long strides carrying me to stand centimeters away from the sweating male.

"H-hey…" the man starts, placing his hands up in front of him defensively, "let's not do anything we're going to regret."

_Regret…_ Something twists inside of me, something that causes my blood to run cold before rapidly boiling into a feeling I just couldn't quite put my finger on, but made me feel negative. My crimson eyes narrow, causing his dark ones to widen, and a frown begins to tug on my lips as I suddenly bolt forward, briskly grabbing the man's exposed wrist and whipping his arm back with me as I turn to face his back. A satisfying crunch comes from his elbow along with a resounding pop from his shoulder and yet another crack when I dig my knee into his lower back, causing the man to fall to his knees.

I then cover his mouth with my free hand where his whimpers of pain were escaping from, and I lower my mouth to his pale ear, muttering in a barely audible voice, "Thank you for the meal."

From the corner of my eye, I can catch the man's eyes widening before I whip his head to the side, exposing his tight neck muscles as I lower my head down to his neck, my canines sinking into his sweaty flesh in one swift movement. A warm, metallic liquid bursts into my mouth and I can feel my body spark in pleasure as his blood continues to flow into my mouth in a slow, steady stream. I down the blood, savoring the taste it left behind as I continue to feverishly try to get more of the blood out of the two minute holes my fangs created in the side of his neck.

The man's jaw begins to grow slack as his harsh breathing against the top of my hand becomes more labored and farther apart from the amount of blood loss. I take one last gulp before slowly pulling away, wiping the scarlet liquid from my lips with the back of my hand prior to tilting the man's ashen face towards mine. I grasp his head with my hands, the heels of my palms digging into his temples as I close my eyes, only to open them back up before mumbling:

"_Ab eo enim tempore__vidisti__me,__  
__Non__statim__ad__amplius,__  
__Et__non subsistet.__  
__Alius__ad__id__quod__abs te__larva__Puro__contionis__locum__.  
__Et non habetis__,  
__non enim te__oblitus sum,__  
__E__go__ iustus__volo dicere,__  
__Gratias agimus tibi._"

I glance into the man's eyes to see them foggy from the incantation I just placed on him – a charm that will make him forget this even happened. I let go of the man's head and allow him to topple to the ground, standing up as I catch a glimpse at where Erza was just finishing up her chant. I tear my eyes away from her as my insides begin to twist the same way they did before, and go about scaling the wall, finally remembering what that feeling I felt was called.

Remorse.

**888**

**Mirajane's POV**

Intertwining my fingers together on my lap, I stare intently out at where I last saw the blobs of blonde and red disappear, patiently waiting for their arrival. It hadn't been long, three minutes maybe, yet I still felt my insides twist as different thoughts and ideas fill my head with each passing moment they're gone. _It's okay_, I think to myself, _they've done these things many times before._

I begin to nibble on my bottom lip and take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. Ever since the incident I've been a little more on edge – I guess we all are – and waiting was always the worst part. It may just be a few minutes wait, yet when all you're focusing on is their safe return, it feels as if hours go by – not seconds.

Before I could start to hyperventilate, I soon spot a blonde head peeking over a roof's ledge a few buildings away and sigh before allowing a relieved smile to spread across my face, knowing they must've had an easy hunt. _Those two are impressive_, I think, _they always work amazingly together – a great pair. But add me into the mix…_ I can feel my smile that without my consent turns into a huge grin that takes up the majority of my face, _we're unstoppable._

"Hey Romeo," I start, watching Lucy roll onto the roof as she leans back over to tug Erza up, the two girl's playfully shoving each other when getting to their feet, "look at who's coming back –"

I turn to face the young teen, only to see that the dark haired boy was nowhere to be seen. I can feel my eyes widen as I quickly get up, my eyes glancing around the roof for signs of Romeo, but I find that I was indeed the only one there and my insides coil together out of dread. I nervously bite my bottom lip as I think of how the redhead and blonde would react. No, how _Lucy_ would react – they were practically brother and sister! She'd throw a shit fit! I can feel my heart stop when I hear two pairs of feet land on the roof behind me, one of them asking the question I dreaded to tell them the answer to.

"Where's Romeo?"

I am sooo fucked.

**888**

**Natsu's POV**

Sneaking past your parents in the middle of the night is easier said than done – especially if they're a bunch of werewolves that use their amazing sense of smell for evil. By 'evil', I mean keeping tabs on where everyone was at all times.

Lucky for us, though, we have a master of stealth on our side, who's practiced this art for many years – Laxus. Who knew the bastard went to so many parties?

At first, the college student was reluctant to oblige, but he eventually gave in when I let the offer of him coming with us slip from my mouth, causing him to smirk and tell me, "I'll be with you shortly."

I watch as the boy slams the door in my face, and let out a relieved sigh before walking back into my room. Clicking the door closed behind me, I cross the room to tug open my dresser, slipping out of my outfit into jeans and a white tee. I carelessly shove my feet into black construction boots, letting the untied laces hang loosely around my ankles, before sliding on my black leather jacket and throwing my scarf around my neck. I grab my keys off of my desk in the corner of my room, turning on my heel to strut back towards the doors where a light knock sounds from.

I swing open the doors to find Laxus standing there in an open, purple dress shirt and black pants. A long, fuzzy coat was draped over his shoulders and his blonde hair was as spiky as ever with his admiral eyes full of mischief and content.

"You wanted my help?"

I let a smirk creep onto my face as I adjust myself in the doorway so the blonde could push past me and into my dark bedroom, where he automatically begins to circle my bed like a hawk. I silently shut the door and cross the room to where my king bed was currently being inspected, standing off to the side as I curiously watch the twenty-one year old do whatever he was doing.

Laxus continues to walk around my bed, his blue eyes calculating some kind of plan, before he stops near the top of the mattress and narrows his eyes at my bed. He grabs one of my dark red pillows and shoves it under the covers, putting the second one right after it. He slips a hand inside his jacket, fishing through one of the pockets and taking out a bottle with '**SALAMANDER**' on it in tiny, bold letters.

I raise an eyebrow at the blonde as he pulls the cork out with his teeth, pouring the smoky contents all over the pillows. He stops pouring the black smoke and grabs the black comforter at the bottom of the bed, dragging it up to cover the pillows. He pours the rest of the bottle over the big lump of pillows and comforter, slipping the empty vile back into his pocket as he turns to face me with a victorious grin on his face.

"Voilà, now you can leave," he bluntly states, bowing to me as he does.

I stare at Laxus incredulously before glancing over the mass of pillows, "What did you do?"

Laxus shrugs, using the same monotone voice to mutter, "I might've or might've not sneaked into your mom's 'special room' to 'borrow' her spell book and make copies of the spells I use to sneak out at sixteen."

I let out a surprised chortle and I can feel my eyes widen to the size of dinner plates, "You took my mom's spell book at sixteen?! Dude, that room has a ton of enchantments placed on it to keep us out – how the hell did you get in?!"

Laxus shrugs again, fighting the victorious simper trying to crawl onto his face as he admits, "I also might've tricked an eight year old Wendy to tell me the reversal spell."

I shake my head at him in disappointment, though the smile on my face betrays me, "Sure, use her half-werewolf, half-sorcerer kids to get you in, even though you could've figured it out yourself. Smooth. So what? Would you use me, too?"

Laxus snorts as if the answer was obvious, "I already have."

I gape at the blonde, watching him leave the room to go to the next one, whistling a merry tune as he went. I was debating whether or not to be proud or betrayed by the fellow hybrid, but I couldn't decide. He was my cousin from my mom's side, and my mom was not a werewolf, nor was her brother – Laxus's dad. They were sorcerers, who were chosen by my father and Laxus's mother to be their mates, making Laxus, Wendy, and I hybrids – half-werewolf and half-mage. Laxus's parents died when he was young, though, and we took him in just like we did with Bacchus, Freed, and Bixlow, whose deceased parents were once a part of our pack.

A small frown settles onto my face when I think about them – my friends' parents. They all died a little after I was born, some from sickness and others from not letting their excess transformation energy out. In the end, the pent up energy ends up killing you. By that, I mean the energy can literally make you burst into flames, or it can make you 'go rogue', transforming you into a beast that had no mind, that you lost yourself to.

Once you 'go rogue', you can never go back to the person you used to be as you only have one thing on your mind – which is to kill. And then you'd have to be put down. It's inhumane and sadistic-like of us, yes, but we try to do everything we can before that happens. Putting them down is sort of like a last resort really, though we've never been able to pull someone out of it, making it something we do in the end anyways. We do it to protect the to-be victims of their untamed selves.

I swallow hard and quickly shake my head out of my deteriorating thoughts, crossing the room in six long strides to stand in front of my bedroom window. I unlatch the window's lock and slide the window open, climbing onto the ledge before taking one last glance at my room. The dark maroon walls were decorated with a few lone paintings and on one side of the room a huge, bare corkboard patiently waited for me to pin stuff on it._ Normal_. My eyes sweep to where my cluttered desk was, papers filling up every inch of the surface so that the top of the desk was no longer visible._ Normal._ My tall, skinny dresser's draws were ajar with articles of clothing sloppily spilling out. _Normal._ My bed though, had a large lump in it, with a strong smell that reminded me of myself emitting from it. Weird, yet it was part of the escape plan.

I frown, wondering what on earth Laxus could've poured onto my bed to make it smell so strongly of me, but I shrug it off as I turn back to face the enormous field of green grass below me that made up the majority of the landscape known as Dragneel Estate. I slide off the window's ledge, the wind whipping through my leather jacket as I freefall three stories, effortlessly landing on my two feet prior to strolling casually towards the garage where I find the rest of my pack. It looks like Laxus gathered everyone besides the elders, Wendy (she's too young to come), and Ultear (there was sort of a vote beforehand as to whether or not we should tell the demon…).

The moment they spot me, they wave at me before heading towards their modes of transportation, getting in and starting up their vehicles. I stride over towards the back of the garage where a scarlet Harley sat, waiting in anticipation for me to start it up. I slide my keys out of my pocket, tossing them into the air before catching them and plopping onto the leather seat, placing the key into the ignition. The motorcycle purrs to life and I smirk as I place my hands onto the two handles, rolling them from front to back to hear the motorcycle rev in response.

I let the Harley calm back down as I go into one of the compartments and take out a black matte helmet that covers my entire head, sliding it on before glancing behind me to see the last car pulling out of the garage. Kicking up the stand, I ride out of the garage, hearing the door shut behind me as I ride after them through the streets.

I catch a glimpse of a yellow mustang with two black lines painted on the hood towards the front of our little line, meaning Laxus must've been the one guiding us to the club. Following in his pursuit was Bixlow in jeans and a black a tank, with Freed – who dressed in a similar get-up except instead of a tank, he had on a white tee with his neon-green hair back in a ponytail. They were in a dark green jeep with the back open, allowing the cool air to circulate throughout the car and _Alter Bridge _to blast through the city as Bixlow drove with his head out the window like a dog, his tongue out and green eyes wide with excitement.

After them was Bacchus in jeans and an open, plum dress shirt with his dark hair up in a bun. Cana rode shot-gun in a short and sleeveless plain, white dress that apparently "held her booze perfectly" right in between her cleavage, making Bacchus grab for the alcohol more than he usually did. Bacchus drove his sleek, black convertible, both of them highly intoxicated, yet you would've never guessed as Bacchus drove perfectly and Cana calmly hummed along to the music blasting from their radio.

Gajeel was right behind the two drunks with Gray riding in the passenger seat of Gajeel's 'baby' – his three ton, ink pick-up truck, with a 440 horsepower engine made out of the same exact steel the rest of the car was made out of. Gajeel had spent months perfecting that damn thing – even made it bulletproof for some reason I have yet to find out – and if anyone touched it without his approval… let's just say don't touch it. Period. Both teens wore dark jeans and open dress shirts, looking similar to Bacchus except Gajeel's shirt was black and Gray's navy, matching their pack symbols tattooed on their bodies.

Bringing up the rear was none other than little old me, rumbling through the streets of Magnolia on my ruby Harley. My leather jacket flaps furiously in the wind behind me and my white tee continuously lashes against me as I zoom through traffic, zipping around cars as easily as ants would crawl around rocks.

A few turns later, we stop in front of the booming club _**Fairy Tail**_, its bold, black letters having the ability to be seen from miles away. I bring my bike to a gradual stop and take the key out of the ignition, stuffing them in my pocket before kicking out the stand and sliding off. I slip my helmet off and run a hand through my spiky hair, sighing before placing the helmet in the bike's storage space. I turn around to see my friends gathering at the end of the line that stretched out to the corner of the block and stride over to them, getting hoots and hollers from them as I draw nearer.

I roll my eyes at them and shove Gajeel, who was closest to me and was currently waving his black bandana in the air, screaming, "HE'S FINALLY HIT PUBERTY!"

An arm wrapping around my shoulders gets my attention and I turn to face Laxus, his lightning scar incredibly prominent on his face in a way it's never been before. His icy cerulean eyes hold a scheming gleam to them and a smirk plays along his lips as he declares that, "Waiting is for losers, we got reservations for the front of the line." He quickly drags me away, signaling for the others to follow as we draw nearer to the club's bouncer.

A big, burly man wearing all black stands in front of the entrance, gazing at us through dark sunglasses as we draw nearer to him. He raises a turquoise eyebrow at us and Laxus just flashes the man a devious grin with his blue eyes slightly glowing, causing the man's face to become slack as he almost robotically lets us through the jet-black double doors into the inside of _**Fairy Tail**_.

"Let's have fun tonight, boys."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note After Editing:**

**Not my best, but just WAIT for the chapters to follow - just you wait. *cackles evilly***

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Four**

**Natsu's POV**

"What can I get you guys?"

I glance up at the silver haired bartender serving us, who consequently pulls me out of the reverie I've been stuck in since the moment we walked into the club with his question, before turning to Gray who was currently sitting at the long expanse of bar with me, yelling over the music, "Two shots of whiskey okay?!"

Gray simply chuckles at me, throwing his head back in amusement before answering, "Of _course _two shots of whiskey is okay, flame brain! When is it not?"

I simply shrug at the raven-haired boy, "Just making sure – I don't magically know what you want, popsicle dick," I then turn to the dark eyed bartender known as Lyon, "Two shots of your strongest whiskey."

The boy behind the bar chuckles in response and I go back to gazing out at the club while waiting for our shots. It was made clear to me the moment we stepped through the club's doors as to why Fairy Tail was the best one out there since it definitely went beyond club expectations. It had felt as if we had entered another world as neon colored lights hung from the high ceiling and fog poured out from every corner of the large room. In the center of the wide space was a high, opaque platform where a glass DJ booth sat with a young man in a half-done, orange jumpsuit with the sleeves tied around his waist was toying away at the remixes of popular songs, creating sick beats that the ocean of people on the glowing dance floor capered to. Strobe lights sat on the DJ's platform along with massive, white speakers that blasted the music so loud, you could barely hear the person next to you.

I saw my friends lost in the horde of people dancing; Cana and Bacchus dirty dancing (something I never want to see again, but it's sadly burnt into my memory now) with almost-empty vodka bottles clutched high over their heads while Laxus, Gajeel, Freed, and Bixlow weren't that far away, dancing with random girls that had suddenly flocked around them the second they passed over the threshold of the building.

I hear the faint clink of two glasses meeting the lengthy strip of bar behind me and turn to see our shots. I take one and Gray takes the other before we clang them together and down the amber liquid, reveling in the burning sensation it left behind as it traveled with a trail of fire down our throats to warm our bellies.

I signal Lyon for another round and he begins pouring the glasses back to the top with the alcohol, starting small talk with us, "So, is there a special occasion?"

I lift the filled shot glass to my lips, shrugging as I reply, "I guess."

Gray and I down the drinks, him shaking his head from how strong it was before answering Lyon for me, "It's his birthday!"

Gray then points at me and Lyon nods his head, smirking as he declares, "Ah! Nothing better than going to a club with some friends on your birthday, am I right?"

He fills up our glasses once more and I can't fight back the snort that overcomes me as I quickly down my shot, letting out a huff of air once the glass leaves my lips prior to answering the young man, "Sure, but this one over here is sort of an ass, so I guess you should speak for yourself."

Lyon laughs while Gray glares at me, raising a challenging eyebrow my way, but before he can do anything, Lyon cuts in, "Well," he starts, "have a great time, guys! I gotta go, so see ya!"

I nod at his retreating figure while Gray yells after him, "Bye, dude!"

We turn to sit in a buzzing contentment as we watch the club around us while listening to the fast-paced music, Gray unconsciously removing a few articles of his clothing so he was clad in only his pants and me scanning the area continuously over and over again in a drunken form of alertness. I take in every little detail of the booming club, from a redhead puking in the corner to a guy spilling his drink on someone, analyzing every person's moves and predicting the outcome.

For some reason, I felt as if it fell upon me to be the one who was always searching for any suspicious activities when with my pack, since technically, it was practically my job being the upcoming leader and everything. It felt as if every single thing that occurs is my call, that if something were to ever happen to them, to my family, it would be my fault since I wasn't paying attention – since I didn't catch it before it happened.

It got pressuring at times, sure, but if it meant my family was safe… it's only a small price to pay, and it's quite obvious to me now as to why I'm still rejecting Gray's fifth offer to dance with strangers. In all honesty, there was a crazy, go-getter side to me that was groaning at my serious side in this moment since it _was_ my birthday (well, almost) and I _was_ at Magnolia's sickest club, so it made no sense whatsoever as to why I wasn't grinding with some random chick right now in this moment.

"_Natsu…_" Gray moans, "Come the fuck on! It's your _birthday!_ We're _in_ Fairy Tail! You had _three,_ shitty shots! Loosen up before I drag your sorry ass to the dance floor and make a girl shake her ass in front of you!"

I click my tongue in thought as I mentally debate with myself before sighing, already knowing I was going to regret saying the following words as they fell from my lips reluctantly, "One dance."

Gray triumphantly pumps a fist into the air as I slide off of my stool, not paying any attention to those around us as we slither towards the dance floor, pushing ourselves through the crowd to where our friends were dancing before joining in.

Automatically girls begin to drape on us, following our lead as we delve into the music, rocking to the beat with one another. Right now, I should be enjoying this very much – should be wanting to do more extreme things with these strangers in this very moment, but something held me back. Something down in my gut told me that something was off, that something wasn't right, and that didn't sit well with me. I flick my eyes around the room, searching for all of the things that would normally be setting me off, but I didn't find anything alarming in the hot room. I felt as if I were being tested, by and for what, I have no idea, but something was off… something … wasn't right.

I reluctantly shake it off, though, as I eye my friends around me who were not only having the time of their lives, but were clearly getting more and more drunk by the second as girls continue to hand them a drink the moment their last one finishes. I almost roll my eyes at them until I notice one minute fact. Freed wasn't there.

My eyes widen as I glance yet again around at my friends, thinking it must've been some mistake, yet I don't spot the green haired teen anywhere in the mix anymore. I quickly scan the area, searching for any sign as to where he was, but it was hopeless. There were just so many people that he could be anywhere in the crowd, and that didn't sit well with me as my insides coil together tighter and tighter with each passing moment I couldn't find the boy. Something was going to happen – something bad. I hear the faint sound of a door shutting and my head whips around to where the noise came from, to find the back exit the center of my attention. _There…_

I quickly leave the dance floor, weaving my way through the sea of people as I draw nearer to the door. I come to stand right in front of it, and without a moment's hesitation open it to an almost vacant alley, with my heart stopping as I stare in shock at the scene before me.

**888**

**Lucy's POV **

I groan, Romeo's such a dumbass – a dumbass who when I get my hands on will be in a _whole _lot of trouble. Does he have a death wish or something? Ugh, that little…

I take in a deep breath, trying to calm myself as Mira finishes her explanation on why Romeo is currently missing in action. _Why_, I think, _why me? Why do I have to be stuck with watching over one of the biggest idiots known to vampires?_

"Mira!" Erza snaps at the blue eyed beauty, staring with a malicious glint in her carob eyes down at the girl who was currently sweating profoundly, "How could you let him out of your sight?!"

"I-I didn't mean to – it just sort of happened... " Mirajane squeaks out, scratching the back of her neck nervously as Erza practically has a murderous aura surrounding her while her hands twitch to grab the Katana strapped on her back.

I sigh, rolling my eyes at the two overdramatic girls, "Guys," I butt in, causing both vampires to turn their attention over me, "it doesn't matter how it happened anymore. Now, all that matters is that Romeo is out there somewhere doing Mavis knows what, and we have to get to him before he does anything he'll regret." The duo unwillingly sighs, one in relief that I saved her sorry ass and the other in understanding as to what the real problem was, and nods at me.

"So, what do you propose we do?" Erza asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

A small frown tugs on the corners of my mouth as I simply shrug at the questioning couple, stating the plan I was currently working out in my head, "I'll go after him – search from the ground while you two stay here in case he comes back. If he does come back, buzz me through the communicators," I finish, pointing to the devices clipped onto their belts.

They hesitantly nod in agreement before wishing me off, and I wave as I walk backwards off of the roof, my clothes whipping against my body as I fall through two hundred fifty feet of air prior to landing on the ground below with a resounding thud. I straighten my wind-whipped black attire before walking off hurriedly, knowing that if I didn't find Romeo soon, so many things could go wrong.

For one thing, time was not on my side due to the fact that the sun should be rising in a few hours since it was currently two in the morning, and if I can't find Romeo before then… well, we all will be fried fishes to simply put it. And then there was also the fact that Romeo could be feeding unsupervised – which is something that usually goes wrong when it's the first.

I remember back when it was my first time, my mother literally had to rip me off of my victim since I just couldn't stop drinking. Human blood – especially from the vein – is so much different from the animal blood we would store for days at a time. It's actually quite insane to think as to why we don't just drink from humans all the time, but then again, we aren't soulless monsters.

Humans are just like us – they have feelings like us and have emotions like us and responsibilities like us, the only difference is our food preference and that's basically it. We feel more connected to them rather than to a couple of forest animals, so we decide to not drink from humans unless necessary and instead hunt the creatures of the forest, whose blood will suffice to sustain our beings. Really, the only times we drink human blood from the vein is once a year to replenish our health and when badly injured, though that barely happens since we tend to stay out of fights. On the occasion when we do get caught up in a brawl, we use the weapons we bore to defend ourselves, but that was an entirely different problem.

I sigh, not even wanting to think about the threats that hide in the shadows of our world, before turning onto a street that was much quieter in comparison to the busy road I was just on. There was barely a single soul roaming the dark, empty street, and I briskly take the opportunity to begin calling out to Romeo as I ran.

"Romeo!" I yell, "Romeo! Where are you?"

I continue calling for the dark haired teen, silently praying to whoever gave an unholy being like me the time of day that he was okay. I was really beginning to worry for the boy who was practically my brother as I ceaselessly got silence in return for each time I yelled for him. I could feel my insides coiling together tighter and tighter each time I was met with no answer and my mind quickly went into panic mode._ I can't lose anyone else, please, please tell me he's okay…_

I call yet again, "Romeo!"

But instead of silence, the vague sounds of slurping fills my ears and I whip around to find an alley, where it seemed to be the place that the sound was coming from. I suck in a hopeful breath, "Romeo?" I utter more softly.

The flash of red eyes glaring up at me causes my heart to stop and I don't waste a single second to dash into the alley, only to gaze in horror at the boy before me. He was hunched over a limp man, drinking greedily from the artery on his neck as if he couldn't get enough. This is exactly what I feared would happen – he'd feed without knowing what he was getting himself into.

I lick my lips apprehensively, opening my mouth as I steel my nerves to order the boy to stop, "Romeo," I state sternly, "stop. You're drinking too much of him, you need to stop."

He simply ignores me and if anything, begins to try getting more out of the punctures he created in the man's neck. "_Romeo…_" I growl out as a warning to the disobeying vampire, who continues to disregard my request. I sigh, shaking my head disappointedly as I declare, "Fine, but you asked for it."

I then crouch down to grab the boys bloody hands before ripping them off of the man and pulling them behind his back in such a way that if I were to make one minuscule movement, I would shatter both of his shoulder blades. I hear him howl against the man's neck and I use my free hand to clench his jaws, forcing him to let go of the poor victim before I throw Romeo off of him, tossing the boy to the side and watching as his eyes immediately return back to their brown stare that seemed hazy, as if he mentally wasn't really there.

I purse my lips at the disheartened sight of the blood-drunken teen before turning back to face the sallow man lying on the ground, his lime green hair messily tied back and white shirt stained scarlet from the blood still flowing from the wound Romeo inflicted on him. I knit my eyebrows tightly together; it looks really bad – as in fatally bad. I don't think twice to reach over and feel for his pulse, which, even though very slow and faint, is thankfully still there.

I begin to stand, knowing someone would come to get him, when I see something that causes my blood to run cold. His right hand… his right hand held the mark of a Dragneel – of a werewolf.

I feel my eyes widen as my heart begins to pound heavily against my ribcage, practically trying to burst free from my chest as fear settles deep beneath my skin. I scamper over to Romeo, trying my best to get him out of his drunken state until I realize it was no use – he was only falling victim to the clutches of a deep sleep, causing me to hastily throw the boy onto my back without another thought, knowing that we had to get out of here before we got caught up in a skirmish.

I turn to face the exit of the alley when the screech of a door opening stops me in my tracks, and a low, deep, guttural growl begins to come from the person that just exited the building. I fumble with the communicator hooked to my belt, pressing the panic button before sprinting away as rapidly as my body would allow me with a growing boy thrown onto my back. I don't halt for anything as I weave my way through the hushed streets and alleys of Magnolia, knowing that if I stopped, we were bound to have something most horrible happen to us.

Someone calling my name from above stops me, though, and I sigh in relief as Erza and Mirajane quickly jump down to help me get Romeo's dead weight onto the rooftops. The entire time they pelt me with questions about what happened, but I couldn't find it in me to give them an answer to a single one – I was shocked, yes, but I was also terrified for what was to come as punishment for Romeo's actions.

I can't lose anyone else, and this little show tonight might mean just that.

It was inevitable now – the Dragneel's are going to take this as an invitation to war from us Heartfilia's, a war we'll both perish from.

**888**

**Natsu's POV**

"GUYS!"

_I'm going to kill them…_

"GUYS! HURRY!"

_I'm going to kill whoever it was…_

"HELP! PLEASE!" I scream at the top of my lungs for my pack, for them to come and help me. I was kneeling over my green haired friend, my family member known as Freed, watching as the little blood still in him slowly leaves his body from the nasty bite wound on his neck that held his impassive face. He was dying, and it was all because of those two monsters I will never forget, who stood at the entrance of the alley. The blonde holding that boy before racing off in a frenzy… it was all their fault. They were the ones who did this. They were the ones I would use as revenge against those damned vampires.

"HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE! LAXUS, BIXLOW, BACCHUS, CANA, GAJEEL, GRAY! ANYONE! PLEASE! HELP ME!" I holler out desperately.

I could easily tell that Freed was coming closer and closer to death with each second passing – the sound of his heartbeat was becoming fainter to my sensitive ears and his once tan face was now beyond pale, almost ashen. If I were to try reassuring my anxious self now that he would be okay, I'd be lying since in truth, I wasn't really sure as to how much longer he could make it for.

"Stay with me, Freed," I mumble out to the unresponsive boy in front of me before calling out again, "HELP! SOMEONE!"

The back exit of the club flies open and the intoxicated, yet alarmed members of the pack stumble through, a few looking as if they were about to yell at me for interrupting their celebration, until all of their eyes fall on the limp boy on the ground. They all freeze in their tracks, neither person daring to move a muscle as they stare in shock at the bleeding boy, but then Cana breaks the stillness as she loudly cries out and snaps everyone out of their daze as they start running towards him. Gray is the first to react, already calling to get the car and dashing off without a second thought as Gajeel throws him the keys to his precious pick-up truck. Bixlow soon reaches him and kneels horror-stricken across from me on the other side of Freed, his watery, green eyes thoroughly inspecting his brethren's being with a sob escaping his lips.

"Freed…" He whispers as Cana comes to sit next to him and hugs him from the side, tears streaming down her face while shaking her head in denial.

Laxus places a hand on Bixlow's shoulder before he turns to face me, his cobalt gaze piercing with rage landing on my own as he spits through clenched teeth, "WHAT HAPPENED?!"

I scrunch up my nose in disgust as I respond to his question with one word that explained it all, hissing out, "_Heartfilia's_."

Everyone growls and Gajeel takes no time to begin cussing them out, "Those fuckers _dare_ to touch us? Do those shit bags_ think_ they can get away with this?!"

"NEVER!" Laxus roars immediately with Bixlow, Bacchus, and I all snarling in agreement. Cana simply shakes as distraught tears continue to pour down her cheeks, gripping tightly onto Bacchus's bicep as if it were a lifeline, not his arm as he comes to sit next to her in order to embrace his mate.

The black pick-up truck suddenly squeals into view and we waste no time in responding as Gajeel, Laxus, Bixlow, and I all pick up the unconscious, green haired werewolf off of the damp pavement, taking much care as to how we handled him while running off towards the vehicle. Gray pulls down the back before jumping in, helping us meticulously maneuver Freed onto the back and we slam it up, leaving Gray in there to monitor him while Gajeel takes the wheel, yelling to us from the open passenger window, "We'll meet you back at the house, alright? Now, hurry!"

We all separate then, going off to our own rides as the race against time was only beginning.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

**IT'S BEEN A WHILE! I'm finally getting back up on the damn horse when it comes to writing, and hopefully I stay on this time instead of falling off and being stagnant for-freaking-ever. Forgive me, this chapter is well over due, but aT LEAST I WROTE IT. YAY. **

**Heads up:**

**This chapter is somewhat like a filler - it's really to help introduce the next chapter, which is going to be bat-shit crazy - trust me on this one. I have big plans for this story, so just try to hang in there!**

**ENJOY!**

**Chapter**** Five**

**Natsu's POV**

I sat at the dining room table with my head in my hands. The entire pack had gathered in the dining room to wait while my mother and Wendy attempted to heal the wounds marring Freed's body with their magic. Externally, his condition did not appear to be life-threatening – maybe a few stitches and bruising, at most – yet internally… I know he had lost a lot of blood, as to how much, though, I cannot say. From the frail condition he was in when I found him, I can guess at anywhere from one to three liters of his blood was lost to that Heartfilia. I cringe – my stomach just twists at the very thought of his blood swirling around the inside of a bloodsucker.

Not daring to break the silence that gripped us all firmly in its grasp, many stared off into oblivion, probably praying to whoever was out there to keep Freed alive, while others were like me; head in their hands, wondering how the Hell they let this happen. The only difference between them and me was that it was actually my fault. I should've been there to protect Freed – I should've known sooner that something was off. He was _my_ responsibility – not theirs. They're not the heir to the leadership, I am, and I am supposed to watch over my pack.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm even fit to be the next leader, much less ready. I wasn't cool-headed like frost-face, I wasn't scary-looking like metal bits, I wasn't caring like Wendy and I wasn't clever like Laxus. Instead, I lose my temper too easily, my pink hair makes me seem more like a Care Bear rather than a vicious wolf, I was the equivalent to a brick wall when it came to comfort, and some may compare my brain to a dull, rusty spoon. It's a mystery as to how I managed to be the lucky baby that was pushed out of my mother after twelve hours of labor.

I feel my neck begin to cramp from having my head hang for so long, causing me to maneuver my head so my chin rested on my fists, but not before hastily rubbing the darks spots out of my vision. My eyes fall upon the jittery frame of Laxus, watching as the blonde paces from one end of the room to the other. It seems as if his futile attempt at calming his jumbled nerves was backfiring for his legs merely moved faster with each lap and his hands ran over his face with such ferocity I thought he was going to peel his skin clean off. The man was obviously overcome with worry – Freed was his best friend, after all. I couldn't imagine how he must've felt – if anything happened to Gray, I'd probably be the same way (of course, I'd never tell this to the snow-dick's face).

"Bickslow," I glance over to where the monotone voice came from, finding my father leaning back in his chair with crossed arms as he demands, "take Laxus outside for some fresh air, would you?"

Said boy runs a hand through his indigo spikes, sighing lightly as he nods curtly to my father before moving to where Laxus stood with trembling hands. He then places a hand on the blonde's shoulder, directing Laxus out of the room with words of reassurance spilling from his lips for the both of them to hear. I tear my gaze from their retreating forms to stare at my father at the head of the table.

The man was still clad in his pajamas like the rest of the elders, sporting a white tee shirt and olive flannel pants with a pair of walnut slippers slid onto his feet. He and the others had spared no time in barging downstairs to see what was the cause of all the ruckus, no doubt shocked to find their children sobbing as they hauled in the dying body of one of their brothers. Their shock was soon replaced with anger, though most withheld it in order to aid in saving Freed – I say 'most' for my father was quick to pull me aside and berate me the moment I explained to him what had happened. He had then ended up pulling me into a hug after his extensive lecture, telling me that he wasn't truly angry at me – he was angry at the Heartfilias.

My mother then suddenly stumbles into the room, gaining everyone's attention as she pants loudly, "He-he's…" she takes a moment to catch her breath, the next words she utters leaving us all numb, "Freed's dead."

**888**

**Lucy's POV**

Pounding up the cobblestone driveway of my home with Erza and Mirajane hot on my heels, I briskly kick open the front doors and strut inside, causing an unsuspecting, silver-haired resident making her way up the stairs to practically jump out of her skin at my abruptness. I recognize it to be Lisanna, Mirajane's sister who was younger than me by a few months, before she speedily spins around, the lengthy black band tee acting as a dress on her frame swishing against her upper thigh as she does. Holding a hand to her heaving chest, the sapphire eyed girl begins to chastise me, "Lucy, what the Hell are you…" her sentence trails off as her scrutiny lands upon the unconscious boy in my arms, changing her tone from a scold to a concerned whisper, "what happened?"

I simply ignore the confused girl, barking behind me to Erza and Mirajane who were just entering, "Lock the doors and gather everyone in the parlor – we have things to discuss."

From the corner of my eye, I see them nod and start my hurry down the halls as I slowly begin to feel my arms give out, faintly picking up on Lisanna's complaints being called after me over my numerous thoughts all screaming in my head. Thoughts screaming of warnings and fears and of memories that would be better if left alone. _You're going to lose him_, my mind muttered, taunting me, _you're going to lose him like you lost them – all because you couldn't do anything to save them…_

I take one last turn and burst with burning limbs into the living room where I find Gramps – still clad in his pajamas – sitting with his legs crossed on one of the two high back arm chairs in front of the hearth that he stared into, mesmerized by the tongues of fire that tried so hard to lash out at him, yet never reached him. I clop over to the leathery, sable couch, sighing gratefully alongside my strained muscles when I release the insensible teen onto it. I then amble over to the other matching, currant chair next to Gramps, plopping exhaustedly into the seat – my adrenaline from earlier in the night was now completely dissipated and overthrown by a leaden feeling engulfing my arms and legs. My eyelids droop to a close and I can feel the warmth of the flames wash welcomingly over me like an old friend, almost succumbing to its caresses persuading me to sleep until Gramps's even voice pulls me out of my reverie.

"Tell me, Lucy," he mutters, and I crack an eye open to find him petting his snowy mustache lightly while his cerulean eyes reflect the light of the fire, "why is Romeo lying unconscious on our couch?"

I let out a deep breath through my nose while my eyelid falls to a close yet again, and pull myself to sit up straight in the chair, placing one leg over the other as I do. I reluctantly peel my eyes open to gaze at the elderly man next to me, "You will find out in a moment," I mutter, and as if on cue Erza and Mirajane strut into the room with the rest of the clan following them in.

I watch from the corner of my eye as my family files in; first, Jellal came clad in his own dark hunting gear (a black, sleeveless turtleneck and jeans), sticking to Erza like gum on the bottom of a shoe while Lisanna held her sister's hand as they entered. Then came Juvia and Levy who were still in their ridiculous, camouflage outfits and were sweating buckets from training all night, panting heavily as they shuffled in. Al and his wife, Bisca, strutted in after the azure-haired cousins dressed in their own gear, the emerald haired beauty steering her five-year old into the room and away from her multiple firearms decorating her frame as they do. The last to enter were Elfman and Evergreen, the two wearing robes and blushing profoundly as they stumble in after everyone else, their blushes quickly dissolve, though, as they – along with everyone else – see the reason why they were here.

Romeo.

Automatically questions were fired with no restraint at me by my gathered family. Questions from 'what happened' to 'who did this' to 'how could you let this happen' filled the air, and when they received no answer, they began directing them to Erza and Mirajane who were just as clueless as them since I was relatively silent on our trip back from downtown. I flick my stare over to Gramps, who in turn gazes curiously back at me, his wise teal eyes asking me a different query, _what are you going to do?_ They inquire, _how are you going to handle the situation?_ I know he wanted to know since I am the one who was going to claim the position of leadership on my birthday, not them. I am the heir, and this was just a test in the sorcerer's eyes – a test to see how I would lead my clan.

With the lift of my hand, they all halt their talking, and with a deep breath, I push myself to stand, turning to face them as I do. My eyes were hardened as they trail slowly over every one of them and I watch each of them significantly calm under my gaze, looking as if ashamed of their previous petty behavior.

"So," I begin, my orotund voice sounding foreign to my ears as I speak, "you wish to know what happened to Romeo?" They all nod in unison and I allow my expression to soften as they do, knowing they were just as worried as I was, "Then I will tell you. As you know, Romeo had his first hunt tonight. He was supposed to wait for Erza, Mirajane, and I to supervise him as he hunted, but he did not do that. He went off on his own and I found him in an alley sucking a man dry to the point of fatality. Now," I say, clasping my hands together as I do, "this would not be that bad if not for one fact – the man he drank from was a Dragneel."

A chorus of gasps fills the room and my eyes move to glance at Gramps, who was sitting rigid in his seat with his brows knit together tightly, before meeting Mirajane's wide ones, my stomach turning at what I found in them – fear. _You're going to lose him_, the back of my mind sang, _he gave the Dragneels a reason to attack and you and Gramps and Mirajane all know it – you all know that history is bound to repeat itself…_

With some trouble, I break out of my deteriorating thoughts to propose an idea to my fretful clan, "I believe that we should be on high alert from now on. If you see something suspicious, call out to one another. If you have a weird feeling about something, share it. We all know our clan cannot take another death, it would emotionally kill us. And a war… it will not end well for either of us – vampire nor werewolf."

**888**

**Natsu's POV**

The light of dusk spills through my open window and blankets my messy room, from the papers strewn across my desk to my bed where my ink blazer along with my scaly scarf lays on the crimson sheets (which were sloppily thrown about as I hadn't even bothered to make my bed when I awoke this morning). Currently, I was sitting on the floor in the corner of my room, my back pressed against the area where the two beige walls met. My tie was undone, hanging pitifully around my neck left exposed by the midnight dress shirt that was somewhat crumpled with a few of the top buttons left undone and sleeves rolled up to my elbows.

I close my eyes as I take a swig from the bottle of brandy I have clutched in my hands, using the burning sensation it left crawling up my throat as a distraction from the sorrow I have been feeling for the past forty-two hours. Freed's funeral was this morning – thirty-three hours after he died on our kitchen counter – and no one was in the mood for talking. Many were locked up in their rooms like me, having a bottle nearby for company as they tried to drink their grief away, and there were a few who tried to go back to normal – I repeat, _tried_ to go back to normal. We all know the truth, though, which is that normal would never be the same – there is no normal now.

This isn't to say that we haven't felt the same way many times before – death is not a new concept to us Dragneels, yet this time… it's different. We've lost family due to something beyond our control, to something natural that comes with age, but never have we lost someone so young – and never has it been because of a bloodsucker. This was not natural, this was murder. This was an invitation to war.

My ears pick up on the sound of my bedroom door opening before being slammed shut, and in mere moments, someone struts from around the bed to crouch down to my level, their footsteps sounding as loud as gunshots to my sensitive ears. I sluggishly peel my eyes open, gazing woozily into the hardened face of my father. He was obviously pissed at me, his dark eyes bright with irritation and his red hair almost aflame, but being too drunk to care, I stupidly slur, "Wha d'ya want, ol' man?"

I barely catch his face flash furiously at me and watch as my father is quick to growl at me, swiftly swiping the practically empty bottle of hard liquor from my hands as he grinds out, "I can't believe you, Natsu – your pack is grieving and here you are, drinking enough to kill a human."

I frown slightly at the sight of the bottle in my father's hands, not happy with the fact that I was too out of it to even stop the man from taking it. I sigh, knowing that the annoying elder had good intentions… I just… _I just don't care._ My eyelids fall again and my shoulders feel as heavy as boulders as I shrug, "Maybe," I start, having to swallow the thick saliva gathering in my mouth as I do, "this is my way of grieving."

My father doesn't say anything in return, and though I can't see him, I know he's probably holding back from smacking me around – holding back from trying to punch some sense into me because that's what I'd do to me if I could. I was ashamed of myself for resorting to drinking and mad at myself, too – I can't forget that part for obvious reasons. I couldn't do that, though, because I wasn't crazy and at the moment, I didn't give a shit. I _felt_ like shit, but I couldn't find it in me to give even one.

So, I patiently wait for him to leave since that's what he usually does when he gets angry, and when I hear the sound of suit crumpling, I think it's him standing to march out of my room a fuming mess – this is how you know I'm my father's son; we both have horrible tempers. To my surprise, though, I feel him brush against my leg, and I have to crack my right eye open to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I wasn't imagining it (to my relief) and I stare at my father as he settles down next to me.

My father was still dressed in the sable suit he wore to the funeral; his white dress shirt dirtied with my mother's tears and his sweat as he had helped carry Freed's coffin to the burial while the hem of his pants and dress shoes were caked with the mud of the cemetery. The two scars marring the right side of his face seemed to be practically as prominent as his slicked back, fiery hair in this light, though I have a feeling the scars were intensified due to internal struggles and not just the light.

We sit in a comfortable silence for a long while – I don't know exactly just how much time passes, but I know it was long enough to make the world stop spinning and make the sun cast a different shadow on my belongings – until my father decides to break it, "To be honest, I never saw this coming," he mutters softly, his grasp on the bottle of brandy tightening faintly as he continues with frustration and despair clearly lacing themselves into his words, "I thought they wouldn't even try to attack us since they've lost so much over these past few months… but I guess I was wrong."

Anger floods through my veins at his words – his words showing sympathy for those monsters. _Freed… _My fist in my lap tightens as I quickly ground out, "What do you mean, 'they've lost so much'? They don't feel pain, those heartless bastards. How could they? They have no souls, no pulse, _no life_ – how could they feel anything, much less the feeling of loss, if they're not even living?"

My father simply sighs before trying to reason with me, "Natsu, not everything is as clear as they appear to be –"

"Even so," I cut him off, sending him a glare that he returns as I do, "I don't pity them."

My father purses his lips, restraining from continuing his futile argument and settling on uttering, "You have every right to your opinion," his tough expression then falls slightly as he adds on, almost as an afterthought, "They took one of our own… and I can assure you that you're not the only one in our pack who thinks that way."

The quiet from before then settles over us once again as neither of us have anything to say to the other, this time for a span long enough to allow me to think straight again and for my horrible headache to subside minutely – it is now that I recognize the perks of having faster healing properties than humans. My mind wanders back to what my father said, "_they've lost so much,_" and I remember back to when I overheard my parents talking in the bathroom the other day. My mother had said that they were still recovering, but from what? My father had also said, and I quote, "_they don't have souls_". I scoff lightly – what a hypocrite.

I then decide to voice my question in the form of a mumble, "What did they suffer from anyways?"

"They," my father starts, "they…" he pauses again, and I feel him shift next to me, the man taking a moment to think of an answer before responding with this, "I'm not entirely sure myself what happened," he confesses and I glance at him to make sure he was telling the truth, only to find his gaze glued to his clasped hands as he continues, "but I do know that three died and two were the heads of the clan. It is said that their heir has still yet to come of age and lead their clan."

I can't shake the feeling that my father was holding something back from me, but I continue on with the conversation in hopes of finding out just what, "Is that the 'mysterious heir' you and mom were talking about the other day?"

My father smirks, "So you've been eavesdropping, eh?" I blush a little at my sloppy mistake and my father merely chuckles at my reaction, "Don't worry about it, kid – I was just as nosy when I was your age. Now, to answer your question," he sighs, running a hand through his hair as he states, "yes; it is the 'mysterious heir' we were talking about. We don't know much about them, but something tells me they're going to be a good leader – like you."

I scowl at that last part – 'good leader' my ass. "Why do you speak so highly of murderers?" I mutter, feeling the same rage from before slowly take root inside of me again as he speaks of the Heartfilias as if they didn't just kill Freed – my brethren.

From the corner of my eye I see my father shrug, "I guess I'm trying to warn you of your competition – and speaking of their heir," my father turns to face me, a conniving simper spreading across his face as he does, "I have a task for you."

I furrow my brow, wondering what on earth this task could possibly be as I ask, "What is it?"

The smile on my father's face widens, his next words completely killing the rage once growing inside of me, "I want you to eliminate your competition – their heir."

**Author's Note:**

**Can anyone take a guess at what's going to happen next chapter? *wiggles eyebrows***


End file.
